Inclined shaft mucking apparatus



May 1, 1956 J. BARES 2,743,830

INCLINED SHAFT MUCKING APPARATUS Filed March 5, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 28 I g3 32 =9 32 4o 9 3B\ 55 39 59 FIG. 5

INVENTOR LEONARD J. BARES ATTORNEYS May 1, 1956 J. BARES INCLINED SHAFT MUCKING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 TOR BARES BY f, QM; Cums l Jwfmm L Filed March 5, 1954 INVEN LEONARD J.

ATTORNEYS bf muck from the bottom of an'inclined shaft.

' ground openings.

ted States Patent INCLINED SHAFT MUCKING APPARATUS Leonard J. Bares, San Leandro, Califl, assignor to'Foley Brothers Inc., a corporation of New York Application March 5, 1954, Serial No; 414,412

8 Claims. (Cl; 214- -90) This invention relates to apparatus for the removal 'The new apparatus comprises, in combination, an improved mucking bucket, a'skip for hauling the ore up the shaft, and a pan car for transferring muck fromthe mucking bucket to the skip.

Many devices have been developed heretofore to'assist in the rapid and efficient removalof muck from the bottom of amine shaft and from the Working face of other under- The most successful mechanical'mucking devices for underground use that haveheretofore'been developed are particularly suited for mucking either-from the bottom of a vertical or nearly vertical shaft, whom the working face of a horizontal or only slightly'inclined tunnel or drift. Not infrequently, however, mine'shafts and other underground openingsmust be drivenin' direcerate mainly'on horizontal surfaces, and that'alsoare'inclined enough from the vertical so that conventionalvertical shaft mucking devices cannot be used efficiently. The

present invention providesanimproved combinatiomof apparatus which is especially suited for efficient mechanical handling and removal of'muck'from the bottom'of-such inclined shafts.

"-The new mucking apparatus comprises three major components, (1) a mucking bucket assembly' 'by "which muck is excavated from-the muckpileat the'bottom of "the shaft, (2) a skip'by which the muck ishoisted out of the shaft, and (3) a pan car-by which the muck excavated by the mucking bucket is transferred therefrom to th'e skip. A particularly advantageous combination according to the invention comprises an overhead monorail secured adjacent the hanging wall of the shaft,-and extending up the sh'aft'from the bottom'thereof. A crawl assenibly is supported on the monorail'and is arranged' to"bedriven 'therealong. A rigid downwardly extending' arm ispivotallyiconnectedlat one end to the crawlass'embly, an'd-= a mucking bucket isconn'ected (preferably pivm'an ym the other end ofthe arm. Power means -are -provide'dfor driving the crawl on the monorail,-andpowen meansare provided to pivot the bucket on the arm andto piill the bucket and arm upwardly. A narrowgauge track extends substantially the full lengthof the shaft along the; footw'all thereof, and a'skip for hoisting muck-up the-shaftrides on suchtrack. An elevated-ramp, comprising-a relatively wide gauge track, isrpositioned a-substantialdistance up the shaft from the bottomi-th'ereof, said'ram'p being arranged .so that it straddles" the-marrow gauge track and extends thereabove sufficiently to permit thes'kip to pass under it. A pan car having a releasable bottomlclosure and having wheels for riding both onsaid narrow gauge trackand on said wide gauge track islarrangedfortravl between the lower. end of'the narrowgauge trackand the ramp;and a hoistis providedfor pul-hng the pan car up the. elevated ramp from a position therebelowon the narrowgauge track underlying the monorail. i

The above-described combination of apparatus thus is 2,743,830 Ce Patented May '1, 1956 '2 such that muck excavated from the muck'pile by the mucking bucket may be transferred from the mucking bucket-to the pan-car, the pan car may then be hoisted :up the ramp, theskip'may then be-l'owered under the pan car, and-the muckrnay then be transferred through the releasable bottomof the pan car into the skip for hoisting up the shaft. I

The foregoing and other features of the new apparatus are described in greater detail below inconjunction with theaccompanying-drawings showing a preferred embodim.ent of the invention; and in which Fig; 1 is an elevation: showing the mucking bucket and the pan car of the newshaft mucking apparatus, in operating position at the bottom of an inclined shaft;

Fig. 2 is a view of that portionof the combination of apparatus which is installed in the shaft a substantialdistance above the bottom thereof (Fig. 2 is drawn so'that whenthe Jine B- B of Fig. 2 is superimposed on the line A--A of Fig.1, Fig. 2 forms an extension of Fig. 1);

'Fig. 3 is an elevation of the mucking bucket assembly;

Fig. 4 is a plan of the mucking bucket and its supporting arm;

Fig. 5 is a sectional View taken substantially along the line 5-5 of Fig. 1-, showing the manner in which the mucking' bucket assembly issupported;

Fig. 6 is an elevation of the pan car;

7 Fig. 7 is a rear elevation of the pan car, taken substan- .tially along'the line 7- 7 of Fig. 1; and 7 "Fig.8 is a section through'the shaft, taken substantially 'along"the"1ii1e8-8 or Fig. 2, showing thev pan car supported on the ramp.

Figs. 1 and'Zshow an inclined mine shaft 10 which is being driven downwardly at a substantial angle to both the vertical and'ihorizo'ntal clirections' by breaking rock at the' bottom and'excavating' the broken rock from the muck pile'll. As 'theshaft is advancedgtimber sets comprising framing timbers "121and' stringers 13 are installed to support fthefgro'urid. "These timbers additionally are employed tosupp'o'rt various elements'of thermucking ap paratus.

The mucking apparatus itself comprises the combination of a -mucking bucket assembly 14 (Fig; 1), a pan car 15 (Fig.1), a 'ramp 16" (Fig. 12), and a'skip 17 (Fig. 2). Briefiysta'te d, operation or the apparatus involves excavatingmuck from the muck pilell by means of the bucket assembly "14; delivering the" muck from the bucket assembly' to" the pan'car' 15,".then' hoisting the pan car up the ramp16so that the skip "17"can be lowered underit, and thentransferring'themuck from the pan carto" the skip 'forhois'ting up the shaft. "The mucking bucket assembly 14is supported on an "I beam'monorail 18. The l-beam is secured adjacent the hanging-wall of'thes'haftito the hanging wallframe timbers' nj'by means of"braekets 19. "Eachbracket.comprises a base'plate 20 (Fig. 5)which isfast'ened to the ftimber 12 by bolts '21 passing alongside timbers and through'st'raps 22'which span "the timber. "Shirn'platesZS 'and'supporting plates 24 are welded or otherwise securely attahed to the' baseplates 20. The shim'plates 23 are spaced-apart adistance slightly greater than the 'width'of the upper iiangeof the I Fbeam "1-3, and the supporting plates 24" are spaced apartadistance somewhat greater than-the thickness of 'the'web of the I-beam, and are bent toco'nfdim to thesiightlysloping inside surface of'the l beam uppen'flange. The brackets securely anchor the Lbeam 'm'on0rail*18 to the hanging wallfrarne timbers, butlit will benoted that thereis -'a "substantial clearance about the periphery of the I-beanr flange. Thelower-end of the I-beam monorail simply rests a'gainstthe 'muck 'pile at therbottomiof the shaft. *As thismnck pileisexcava t ed, :the monorail is allove ed to slide downwardly, and in this manner it is readily advanced as the shaft is deepcoed: Similarly, when it is necessary to blast to break the sockatthe bottom of the shaft, the I-beam can be pulled up the shaft, in its suspending brackets, to a safe distance, and can be easily and quickly returned to its normal opcrating position thereafter. The mucking bucket assembly comprises a crawl 25, JIhich in turn comprises a pair of dolly assemblies 26 and held in spaced relation by longitudinal frame bars 28. best shown in Figs, 3 and 5, each dolly assembly comprisesapair of T-shaped side plates 29. The plates 29 are held in correct spaced relation and are secured to the longitudinal frame bars v28 by a shaft 30. Two pairs of rollers 31 are secured to the frame plates in position to side on the inner surface of the lowerflange of the I-bearn m'msorail 18; and a pair of stabilizing rollers 32 are mounted on the shaft in position to bear against the ilmderside of the I-beam lower flange.

The crawl 25 is advanced up and down the monorail I! by a tugger hoist 33 (Fig. I) mounted on the monorail near its upper end. A crowd chain 34 passes around tdrive sprocket 35 on the tugger, and around an idling 115mm 36 attached to the forward end of the I-beam monorail; and the two ends of this chain are anchored respectively to the fore and aft dolly assemblies 26 and 450i the crawl. Rotation of the drive sprocket 35 in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 1, advances the i down the monorail toward the muck pile, and rotaof the drive sprocket in the opposite direction moves 1 the crawl up the monorail.

. A mucking bucket 37 is pivotally attached through a I arm 3810 the aft crawl dolly 27. The arm 38 comapair of diverging members 39 which'at one end It: welded to a pivot plate 40 that is pivotally mounted on the dolly shaft 30. At their diverging ends, the membets. 3 are attached to a spreader 41 and to a pair of hlcketpivot plates 42. The'mucking bucket 37 com- I prises a pair-of side plates 43, and a bottom plate 44.

The forward end of the bottom plate is shaped to provide s lip 46, and the rearward end portion 47 of this is curved upwardly and thence forwardly to form a doseti back for the bucket. The bucket side plates 43 ll'e pivotally mounted, by pins 48, between the pivot plates 42. point of this pivotal mounting is preferably slightly below and to the rear of the center of gravity of the bucket, so that through the force of gravity the lip of the bucket tends to tilt down about the axis of thepins 48. Sometimes, however, it is desirable to lock the bucket 37 against such pivotal motion, and

for this. purpose at least one of the plates 42 is provided with-s hole and an aligned hole 51 is formed in the 'g bucket side plate 43. By inserting a pin throughthese holes when they are in alignment, the bucket is securely locked against pivotal movement in the arm 38. A bafl 52 is secured to the side plates 43 of the muckin bucket, adjacent the digging lip 46. The bail carries a sheave 53', about which a hoisting cable 54 is passed. One end of. this hoisting cable is anchored to the forward Crow! dolly 26. The other end of the cable is passed overall idling sheave 55 carried by this same dolly, thence 4 a'similar idling sheave 56 carried by the aft crawl dolly 27, and thence to a capstan or winding drum 58 of I: tugger hoist 59. By winding the hoist cable 54 on to the drum 58, the mucking bucket may be tilted oboutits pivotal mounting in the supporting arm 38, and 'my be. lifted with accompanying pivotal movement of V a the arm 38 on the dolly shaft 30, from the position shown or less conventional design for operation in an inclined shaft. It comprises a rectangular bucket-like body 60, open at its upper end 61, and mounted on flanged wheels 62. The skip rides on a narrow gauge track comprising a pair of parallel rails 63 conventionally laid adjacent the footwall on the footwall frame timbers 12. A hoist cable 64, attached to the skip bail 65, extends up the shaft to a skip hoist (not shown) at the head of the shaft.

The rails 63 forming the narrow gauge skiptrack extend substantially to the bottom of the shaft, and the pan car 15, by which muck is transferred from the mucking bucket 37 to the skip 17, is adapted to ride thereon.

he pan car (Figs. 6 and 7) comprises a box-like body having a releasable bottom closure 71 hingedly attached thereto. The pan car is supported on the rails 63 by means of small flanged wheels 72 rotatably mounted on axles 73. The aXles 73 extend considerably beyond the span of the narrow gauge track, and carry additional flanged wheels 74 at their outer ends, for engagement with a relatively wide gauge track on the ramp 16 (Fig. 2).

The ramp 16 is formed by a pair of steel channels 75, which have been bent edgewise, as shown in Fig. 2, and which are mounted parallel to each other and spaced apart so that their flanges face toward each other, as shown in Fig. 8. The channels 75 are held in place and braced by supporting frame members 76, which in turn are detachably secured to the frame timbers 12. The channels 75 form the wide gauge track on which the outboard wheels 74 of the pan car ride, and they are accordingly spaced apart a distance corresponding to the spacing of the wheels 74. The width of the channels, between the inside surfaces of the flanges thereof, is slightly greater than the diameter of the approximately cylindrical riding surface of the wheels 74. The wheels 74 of the pan car ride on the inside'surface of the lower flanges of the spaced channels 75, and are prevented from shifting laterally or upwardly by the webs and upper flanges of the channel. The upper flange of each channel is cut away, as indicated at 77 in Fig. 2, where the ramp slopes down to the level of the narrow gauge track formedby the rails 63. When the pan car is pulled up the rails 63, the outboard wheels 74 thereof, upon arriving at the lower end of the ramp, enter between the flanges of the channels 75 at the cut-away part 77, and thereby the pan car is lifted off the rails 63 and up the ramp.

The pan car is connected by a hoist cable 78 to the drum 79 of a tugger hoist 80 mounted at the upper end of the ramp 16. The cable 78 is connected to the pan car by being passed through a small opening in the hinged bottom closure 71, around a bar 81, to a point where its end is anchored to the closure 71 by cable clamps 82.

It will be noted that by this arrangement the bottom closure of the pan car is held closed so long as the cable 78 remains taut, which, of course, it does so long as the weight of the car and its contents is carried by the cable. At the forward end of the pan car, the cable 78 passes through a U-shaped guide 83 which is pivotally connected to the body of the pan car.

Operation of the above-described apparatus is as follows: When the rock at the bottom of the shaft has been broken to form the muck pile 11, and when the apparatus has been set in position as described above, muck is excavated from the pile by operation of the tuggers 33 and 59 to crowd the mucking bucket 37 into the muck and to hoist the bucket, when full of muck, to the elevated position I shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. Then the two tuggers 33 and 59 are operated to move the crawl '25 up the monorail, without lowering the mucking bucket, to position II shown in dot-ted lines in Fig. 1. Next, with the pan car 15 in the position shown in Fig. 1, the mucking bucket 37 is lowered and allowed to pivot downwards to position III shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, so as to discharge its contents by gravity flow into the pan car. 'In doing so, the pan car hoist cable 78 may be pressed d wn ardly :to :the position indicated .in :do tted lines, and t e guide 83'may "be .vtilted-out-rof the..way,'-by.:the weight of they mucking bucket.

The'capacity .of the..'p.an.icar"may be about equalto the capacity of the skip,-or ;it:may:-require:-.two or more pan car loads to fill the skip, but-in any event :the pan car is.generally..largeenough: to require several :muckg ket loadstoyfill it. :Hence, after the above-descrlbedsequence ofyoperations, the mucking-bucket is return d to the muck pile for another loadofmuck, while the pan car remains'in theposition shown in Fig. 1.

After the. pan, car has. beenfilled, :the hoist tugger 180 is operatedtopull the :pan car uprtheramp to theposition indicatedin:solidflines .in Fig. 2. Then the ,skip 17 is lowered downithe narrowggaugeutrack, .under the Pan car 15, and between-the channels 75 of .the ramp, to the position shown in: dottedlines. It will. be noted that in this position theflskipsisdirectly in the path of travel ofthe pancarouthe. ramp. The tugger'80 is then reversed and-thepancar, is lowered down theramp until, in 'the position shown in dotted'lines in Fig. 2, it rests against the openupperend of .-the:skip. 'Thebottom closure 71 of .thespan car is..a little narrower than the body. of the.gskip, -and. consequently, as theutuggerBO is operated to slack offontheca'ble 7.8,...the weight ofi-the muck in the pan car causes the bottom closure 71 to swing open, .permittingithe'muck to flow into the skip. When the muck has thus been transferred from pan car to skip, the pan car is once again pulled up the ramp about to e p s ionshown in solid lines, and the skip is th reupon hoisted up the, shaft. *Whilethe skip is making the p p h shaft .a d back. down :again after it. has been mp he Pan 9a s lowered-.again'to. the Position Shown n lldXQfiVfliiOIiQf muck, -.and reloading of the pan car, proceeds as described above.

It will be noted that the apparatus described above is eminently suitable for operation in shafts that areinclined through a wide range of angles. It is particularly suited for operation in shafts inclined at an angle in the range from 30 to 75 from the horizontal. This is the range through which mechanical muckers designed for operation in horizontal drifts, and mucking apparatus for sink' ing vertical shafts, are both impractical to use.

Features additional to those described above can be incorporated in the apparatus to facilitate handling it in normal shaft sinking operations, For example, it is advantageous to attach a bracket 85 (Figs. 3 and 4) carrying a sheave 86 to the spreader 41 of the mucking bucket arm. Such sheave may be used in place of the bail 52 and sheave 53 to hoist the bucket 37 and arm 38, when these two members are locked together by a pin extending through the aligned holes 56 and 51. Alternatively, a separate cable can be passed around the sheave 86 to an additional tugger hoist drum, so that hoisting of the arm 38 and pivotal rocking of the bucket 37 on the arm can be separately and independently controlled.

It is also advantageous to provide a pair of brackets 87 (Fig. 3) projecting from the frame members 28 of the crawl. These brackets are for-med at their lower ends with aligned holes 8'8; and when the bucket arm is hoisted to a position parallel with the crawl frame bars 28, it can then be suspended in such position by inserting a bar through the holes 88. In this manner, the mucking bucket and arm can conveniently be held close against the hanging wall of the shaft, in a position where it is out of the path of travel of the skip 61.

It will be noted that the monorail 13, on which the mucking bucket crawl 25 travels, is easily advanced as the shaft is deepened, and as new frames of timbers 12 are installed, by simply allowing it to slide down through the hanging brackets by which it is mounted. Additional lengths of the rails 63 are laid, as required by deepening of the shaft, so that the pan car 15 can always be lowered suflicien-tly to be within reach of the operating range of the mucking bucket assembly. At such less frequent intervals as are most convenient, the supporting framemembers 76 of the ramp 16' may :be loosenedfrom the :sets. offtimbers-to'which. they are attached, andz'the .entire ramp "maybe loweredldown the shaft.

While it is. desirable'to'haveithe'ramp 16 fairly close'to the bottom .of itheshaft, soas'to minimize thedistance through which the .pan car must be hoisted, it is an=advantage. of the apparatus described above that therewis nothing critical aboutrthe proximity of the ramp to-the bottom of the shaft, and it. is quite .unnecessary'to lower it down theshaft every time newlengths of rails 63Jare laid in place.

Although the new;apparatus is illustrated zinithe. drawings-as it WOU'ldZbG. used in: a single compartmentz'shaft, it can equally well. be used in sinking a shaft of'two or more compartments.

I claim:

1. In apparatus for'lthe removal of muck'from the-bottom of an inclined shaft :having ground supporting-members set against the hanging wall of said'sha-ft,.aimono rail secured tosaid members and 'held thereby adjacent the hanging Wall ofithexshaft and extending'up theshaft from the bottom thereof,'a"crawl assembly supported on the monorail and adapted to be driven .therealong, a rigid downwardly extending; arm pivotally connected-at one endto the crawl'assembly, a mucking bucket'pivotally .connected .totthe' otherxend of saidarm, meaus'for driving the crawl on the monoraihand 'me'ans for pivotng the bucket on said. arm' and for pullingthe bucket :and arm to a position adjacent to: the crawl, said crawl driving meansand said bucket pivoting means being supported-adjacent: the hanging wall of the shaft, whereby the entire mucking bucket assembly may be elevated from the shaftfoo-twall and acar for carryingmuck maybe lowered thereunder into position to receive muck from the mucking bucket.

2. ln' apparatus for the removal of. muck from :the bottom ofan inclined shaft, a'rnonorail' secured adjacent the hanging wall of the shaft and extending up the shaft from the bottom thereof, a crawl assembly supported on the monorail and adapted to be driven therealong, a rigid downwardly extending arm pivotally connected at one end to the crawl assembly, a mucking bucket having side members and a digging lip and being pivotally connected to said arm, a U-shaped bail connected to the bucket adjacent the digging lip and forwardly of the pivot point of the bucket and arm, means for driving the crawl assembly on the monorail, and means engaging the bail of said bucket to pivot the bucket on said arm and to pull the bucket and arm upwardly.

3. In apparatus for the removal of muck from the bottom of an inclined shaft, a monorail secured adjacent the hanging wall of the shaft and extending up the shaft from the bottom thereof, a crawl assembly supported on the monorail and adapted to be driven therealong, a rigid downwardly extending arm pivotally connected at one end to the crawl assembly and forked at its other end, mucking bucket having side members and a digging lip pivotally mounted in the forked end of said arm on an axis passing somewhat below the center of gravity of the bucket, a U-shaped bail pivotally connected at each end to a side member of the bucket adjacent the digging lip thereof, means for driving the crawl on the monorail, and means engaging the hail of said bucket to pivot the bucket on said arm and to pull the bucket and arm upwardly.

4. In apparatus for the removal of muck from the bottom of an inclined shaft having supporting timbers set against its hanging wall, an aligned row of monorail sup port brackets secured to the undersides of said timbers, a monorail suspended by said brackets, and a crawl assembly including a mucking bucket suspended from the monorail and adapted to be driven therealong, said monorail resting against the bottom of the mine shaft and being slidably supported by said brackets to permit longitudinal movement of the monorail and crawl assembly as a unit in the brackets.

v 5. In apparatus for the removal of muck from the bot- .Ztom ofzan inclined shaft, the combination comprising an monorail secured adjacent the hanging'wall of the shaft and extending up the shaftfrom the bottom 2 lhereofia crawl assembly supported on the monorail-and adapted tobe driven therealong, a rigid downwardly extending arm pivotally connected at one end to the crawl assembly, a mucking bucket connected to the other end of slid arm,- means for driving the crawlassembly on the *lnnoraihmeans to pull the bucket and arm upwardly, a

narrow gauge track extending substantially the full length lfthe lhaft along the footwall thereof, a skip riding on Y zlidinarrow gauge track,- an elevated ramp comprising a wide gauge track positioned a substantial distance up the shaft from the bottom thereof, said ramp straddling the narrow gauge track and extending therelbOIG snfliciently-to permit theskip to pass thereunder, a planar having a releasable bottom closure and having ibeelsffor riding both on said narrow gauge track and on -Iid widegauge track, and a hoist for pulling the pan car I up theelevated ramp from a position therebelow on the wheels ofsaid pan car adapted to ride on said wide gauge track are of a diameter slightly less than the space between the flanges of said channel irons.

7. Apparatusin accordance with claim 5, characterized inthat said pan car is provided with a box-like body havin] a releasable bottom closure pivotally connected thereb, and in that a flexible hoist cable by which said pan car is connected to the pan car hoist is secured to said closure and extends forwardly therefrom through the pan car body, whereby said bottom closure is maintained closed so long as the Weight of the pan car is supported by said cable, but is released when said cable is vslacked off relatively to the pan car.

8. In apparatus for the removal of muck from an inclined shaft, the combination comprising a narrow gauge track extending substantially the full length of the shaft along the footwall thereof, a skip riding on said narrow gauge track, an elevated ramp comprising a relatively wide gauge track positioned a substantial distance up the shaft from the bottom thereof, said ramp straddling the narrow gauge track and extending thereabove sufficiently to permit the skip to pass thereunder, a pan car having a releasable bottom closure and having wheels for riding both on said narrowgauge track and on said wide gauge track, and a hoist for pulling the pan car up the elevated ramp from a position therebelow on the narrow gauge track adjacent the bottom of the shaft, whereby when said pan car has been loaded with muck adjacent the bottom of the shaft, it may then be hoisted up the ramp, the skip may then be lowered under the pan car, and the muck may then be transferred from the'pan car to the skip for hoisting up the shaft.

References Cited in the-file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,232,082 Pratt July 3, 1917 1,570,386 MacCarthy et al. Jan. 19, 1926 2,346,471 Colovich Apr. 11, 1944 2,530,714 McDougall Nov. 21, 1950 2,538,711 Tapper Jan. 16, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 266,026 Germany Oct. 18, 1913 

